Knitting machine



Oct. 3, 1939. w. A. ZIEVE 2,174,544

KNITTING MACHINE Filed March 13, 1936 mzrz ATTOR Patented Oct. 3, 1939 UNITED STATES" PATENT, OFFICE 2,174,544 KNITTING MACHINE -Wiliiam A. Zieve, North Bergen, N. J. Application March 13, 1936, Serial No.-68,672

6 Claims. I (01. 66125) i I This invention relates to knitting machines in general and is herein illustrated as especially designed for use in association with a circular knitting machine of the type in-which the needle cylinder and needle dial remain stationary, and reciprocatory movement is imparted to the needles through the instrumentality of appropriate needle-actuating cams.

Important objects of the invention are to insure opening of needle latches preparatory to yarn reception, to insure the latches against premature closing and to feed the yarn to such a position with respect to the open needles of both sets as to insure against failure of the needles to pick up the yarn as intended.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a fragmental plan view of a knitting machine equipped with the present invention, the rotatable dial cam plate being conventionally illustrated as presenting a straight edge rather than a curved periphery; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of so much of the machine as is shown in Fig. 1 and as seen from the right therein; Fig. 4 is a side view of the yarn guide appearing in Figs. 1 to 3, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 2, it will be noted that the usual knitting needles I and II operate in horizontal and vertical paths, respectively, and at right angles to each other, the needles being ac.-

tuated by cams in a well known manner and so staggered that the horizontal and vertical needles may clear each other in their reciprocatory movements.

' In order to insure opening of the needle latches I2 preparatory to the reception of yarn by the needles, there is provided a latch opening device indicated as a whole by the numeral I4 and comprising a spring arm I having a knife-like edge, as shown in Fig. 5. The arm I5 is secured at 'one end to the lower end of a rotatably adjustable pin I6 carried by an. arm II, the pin I6 and the arm I! being, respectively, adapted to be locked in various positions of adjustment by a set screw I8 and a lag screw 20, the former of which is carried by the arm I! and the latter of which serves also as a means for attaching such arm to the dial cam plate 2I of the knitting machine. The spring arm I5 is adapted to engage, intermediate its ends, a stop 22 which is needle hooks.

held for rotative adjustment on the dial cam plate 2| by a lag screw 23. In order that the freeend of the spring arm I5 may be flexed in one direction or the other so that proper engagement (see Fig. 5) between it and the latches 5 is insured, there is provided an adjusting screw 24, which is adapted to engage the spring arm intermediate its point of connection with the pin I6 and its point of contact with the stop 22, the screw being carried at the lower end of a pin 25 which is similar to the pin I6 and which may be held in various positions of adjustment on the arm I'I by a set screw 26.

From the foregoing it will be understood that by reason of the adjustability of the arm I1 and the stop 22 with relation to the cam plate to here point out that the adjustment is so made that the needles, as they are elevated, will be engaged-by the knife-like edge of the arm at a point slightly short of the extreme end of the The inherent flexibility of the arm I5 willpermit the arm to yield as the downwardly curvedaen d of the needle hook moves up and past such "knife-like edge, in which case a positive engagement between the spring arm and the outer or exposed end of the needle latch is effected. Attention is directed to the fact that, regardless of what may be the extent of inherent eccentricity of the needle-circle, such outof-true condition will be compensated for if, when adjusting the spring arm in the manner just described, care is exercised in making the setting so as to insure engagement of the knife-like edge of the spring arm with each of the needles at a point on the reversely curved portion thereof at an appreciable distance from its extreme end.

In order to guard against failure of the spring arm I5, under any conceivable extraordinary circumstances, to carry out its intended function, and in order to guard against the possibility of a needle latch, which has been opened either by a loop of the fabric or. by the spring arm, snapping to closed position as a thread loop of 5,

a fabric moves relatively over and disengages the open latch of a needle en route to latch clearing position, there is provided a brush 2i which is so disposed that the upper or latch ends of the elevating needles are adapted to pass through. its depending bristles. The brush 2'17 is adapted to be held in various positions of adjustment by the aid of a support Eli, which comprises a pair of rectangular clamp plates til, between the corresponding margins of which the brush may be clamped by the aid of a screw 38, carried by a bracket Elli slidably and pivotally mounted on the dial cam plate 20. It is to be observed that the corresponding marginal edges oi" the clamp plates 3d are spaced at diiierent distances from the center of the screw iii about which such plates are adapted to be moved to various positions, and that the brush, which is adapted to be clamped intermediate any pair of such corresponding margins, may be held horizontally or substantially horizontally in various positions of vertical adjustment depending, of course, upon the particular marginal areas between which the brush is clamped.

In order to so feed the yarn to such a position with respect to the open needles of both sets as to insure against failure of the needles to pick up yarns as intended, there is provided a yarnfeeding unit indicated generally by the numeral 1 3 1. This unit includes a thread guide it, which is tapered to a central ridge 3%, extending throughout the length of its upwardly inclined front end, and which is similarly tapered, although not to so great a degree, along its lower margin so as to there afford a central ridge ill. The thread guide 35 is formed at or near its heel portion with a thread passage 38, the upper end of which is flared as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and d, and the lower end of which is disposed substantially on the center lineof the ridge 31. The thread guide 35 is adapted to convey a knitting thread 40 from a suitable source, not shown, to the needles by way of the thread passage 38, and is so shaped and disposed that the thread is presented in extreme proximity to the needles where they cross each other, thus insuring against the failure of the hooked ends of the needles to engage and pick up the yarn on their return movements.

Due to the fact that the needle circle of knitting machines, with which the present invention is adapted to be employed, is, as previously stated, always out-of-true to the extent of at least a few thousandths of an inch, it becomes desirable to so mount the thread guide as to allow, or compensate, for such out-of-true condition, thus obviating the danger of needle or other breakage when the needles are presented relatively to the thread guide. The thread guide is therefore mounted on and suspended by a fiat spring arm 41, which is slidably and rotatably connected, by a set screw 42, to a bracket 44. The bracket 44 is connected, as by a set screw 45, to a spring arm 46 which in turn is connected, as by a set screw 41, to a boss 48 mounted on the cam plate 2|, the connection afforded between the spring arm 46 and the boss 48 being such as to permit lateral and rotative adjustment of the former. Connected to the spring arm 46, as by the set screw 45, is a rotatably adjustable arm 50 which is equipped with a sleeve-like thread guide 5|, the position of which may be changed to suit various positions of adjustment of the thread guide 35 by adjusting the arm 50 as required.

From the foregoing description of the yarn-- amassefeeding unit in its entirety, it will be apparent that the thread guide 35 is susceptible to universal adjustment and may, therefore, be so positioned with relation to the needles as to present the yarn in extreme proximity to them in the vicinity of the point where they cross each other, thus insuring engagement of the yarn by the hooked ends of the needles on their return movements. Moreover, it will be understood that while the thread guide 35 is held relatively rigid, it is nevertheless so supported that it may yield in either a clockwise direction or in a counter clockwise direction, reference being had to Fig. 2. as occasions may require as, for example, should it be unduly impinged by a horizontal needle or by a vertical needle or by both of such needles. In this connection it is to be observed that if the thread guide is unduly encountered by one of the horizontal needles, displacement of the thread guide is permitted in a generally upward direction; and that if it is unduly encountered by one of the vertical needles, displacement of the thread guide is permitted in a generally downward direction; and that if it is unduly encountered by both of such needles at the same instant, displacement of the thread guide is permitted in a direction generally upward and to the right, as viewed in Fig. '2the degree of pressure exerted by the thread guide on either or both of such needles being in no instant suflicient to effect needle-breakage or even needle distortion to a harmful extent.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that if the thread guide 35 is displaced as a result of its being unduly encountered by one of the horizontal needles it, such displacement will occur in a plane generally transverse to the path of the needles ill; that if the thread guide 35 is displaced as a result of its being unduly encountered by one of the vertical needles H, such displacement will occur in a plane generally transverse to the path of the needles ii; that if the thread guide 35 is displaced as a result of its being unduly encountered simultaneously by one of the horizontal needles H] and one of the ver- 4 tical needles M, such displacement will occur in a plane generally transverse to the path of the respective groups of needles Hi and H; and that regardless of whether the spring arm M or the spring arm at or both of such arms are flexed incident to displacement of the thread guide 35, such flexing will occur in a plane generally transverse to the paths of the respective groups of needles in and H. 1

Although only one form of the invention is herein shown and described, it will be understood that various changes and duplications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knitting machine wherein one group of needles operate across the path of another group of needles, a yarn-feeding unit comprising a thread guide adapted toassume a thread-feeding position in close proximity to the intersection of the paths of needles with which it is adapted to cooperate, and means for yieldably supporting said thread guide for movements only in a plane generally transverse to said paths, said supporting means including a flat spring arm connection between said thread guide and a relatively fixed point substantially remote from such guide.

3. In a knitting machine wherein one group of needles operate across the path of another group of needles, a yarn-feeding unit comprising a thread guide adapted to assume a thread-feeding secured to said thread guide and pivotally and j slidably supported by said bracket.

4., In a knitting machine wherein one group of needles operate across the path of another group of needles, a yarn-feeding unit comprising a thread guide adapted to assume a thread-feeding position in close proximity to the intersection of the paths of needles with which it is adapted to cooperate, and adjustable thread-guide-supporting means for effecting bodily adjustment of said thread guide toward and away from and along said intersection, said supporting means including a flat spring arm connection between said thread guide and a relatively fixed point substantially remote from such guide, said spring arm connection being adapted to yield incident to abnormal movements of said thread guide in a plane generally transverse to said paths.

' 5. In a knitting machine, a yam-feeding unit comprising a thread guide adapted to assume thread-feeding position in close proximity to the path of needles with which it is adapted to cooperate, a yieldable thread-guide-support which is yieldable only in a plane .generally transverse to said path and on which said thread guide is carried in a fixed relation thereto and by which said thread guide is supported for yielding movement only in a plane generally transverse to said path, said support being adjustable for effecting bodily adjustment of said thread guide toward and away from and along said path and for effecting tilting adjustment of said thread guide with relation to said path and including a fiat spring arm pivotally and slidably supported at a relatively fixed point substantially remote from said guide, a bracket pivotally supported by said flat spring arm, and a second flat spring arm secured to said thread guide and pivotally and slidably supported by said bracket.

6. In a knitting machine wherein one groupof needles operate across the path of another group of, needles, a yarn-feeding unit comprising a thread guide adapted to assume a thread-feeding position in close proximity to the intersection of the paths of needles with which it is adapted to cooperate, means for yieldably supporting said thread guide for movements only in a plane generally transverse to said paths, said supporting means being adjustable for efiecting bodily ad- Justment of said thread guide toward and away from and along said paths and for effecting tilting adjustment with relation to said paths and including a flat spring arm pivotally and slidably supported at a relatively fixed point substantially remote from said guide, a bracket pivotally sup ported by said fiat spring arm, and a second fiat spring arm secured to said thread guide and pivotally and slidably supported by said' bracket.

WILLIAM A. ZIEVE. 

